There’s a Dimitri Martin joke where he says that a person who owns a dog in the city is clearly saying that their need for companionship outweighs their dislike for picking up shit. That joke has been going through my head quite a bit over the last week or so as I’ve considered getting a dog.

The difference between getting a dog now, living downtown Vancouver in an apartment and when I was younger living in a house with a large yard in the rural area of Kelowna, is that apart from picking up poop it’s not as easy to care for a dog in the big city. Or as cheap.

My main concern is that I work eight hour shifts and can’t get away for lunch to walk the dog. Add the walk to work and back and the dog would be on its own for nine hours. Not a nice thing for either the dog or the smell of my apartment.

I know there are dog daycare services, as well as dog walkers. A quick trip through Google seems to suggest to me that it tends to cost $25+ a day for either of those services which might be a reasonable price but makes the dog ownership thing quite a bit more pricey.

Do you have a dog in the city? How do you take care of it? What’s a guy who lives on his own to do?